1. Field of the Invention
The present invention, in general, relates to personal grooming devices and, more particularly, to toe and finger nail clippers.
Nail clippers, the term as used herein including either toe or finger nail type of clippers, are generally well known.
Certain prior art types of nail clippers do not fold sufficiently flat for storage. Others do not apply leverage that can create sufficient force to cut through difficult nails without requiring a great deal of force by a user.
Prior art nail clippers include a considerable amount of metal that has been machined, or stamped or otherwise formed and assembled together. This is considerably more expensive than plastic, for example. However, all prior art designs that have opposing parallel cutting blades which provide simultaneous cutting of the top and bottom of the nail have heretofore included a metallic nail clipper, with perhaps plastic surrounding certain components. This is because the mechanical stresses arising during use have precluded the use of a plastic body in the type of nail clipper that has opposing parallel cutting blades. It is also expensive to manufacture such prior art types of nail clippers due to the amount of metal that must be used.
The prior art opposing parallel blade nail clippers include a center post that engages with a pivoting lever, both of which are generally made from metal. A main body of the prior art nail clipper is also made from metal. The pivoting lever, pressing upon a ridge in the center post applies pressure to the clipper sufficient to urge a pair of opposite sides, and therefore also the opposing parallel blades, toward one-another during use.
There is a need for a nail clipper that is inexpensive to manufacture. There is a need for a disposable nail clipper that is also inexpensive to manufacture. A sufficiently inexpensive nail clipper could include an advertising and be given away or at offered at finer hotels or even sold for minimum cost, for example. There is need for a nail clipper that can meet any of these needs and which also has opposing parallel cutting blades.
Certain nail salon patrons may experience reluctance in using nail clippers that have been used on other nail salon patrons. At times, it is difficult to determine if proper sanitation procedures have been properly followed before the nail clipper is used on the next nail patron. The inexpensive nail clipper may be given to the nail salon patron for their own personal use while they are at the nail salon and then may be taken home for later use. That way the nail salon patron can be assured that the nail clipper that is used to cut their nails is sanitary.
Nail clippers are expensive because of the machining that is required to manufacture and assemble together the upper and lower metal portions, thereof. The top and bottom blades must not only be ground to a fine edge, but the cutting edges must align precisely. It is relatively inexpensive to make a blade, but the manufacturing of two blades with opposing parallel cutting edges that mesh precisely together drives up the cost of the nail clipper.
Also, because nail clippers include so much metal, they are detected at airport security checks and often result in the searching of personal sundries that would not otherwise be so scrutinized. They may even be confiscated as a potentially dangerous weapon, which of course is a debatable assessment, but if confiscated it leaves the person without a nail clipper when they reach their destination. It is desirable to include sufficiently little metal with a nail clipper so that it does not generally register as a potential threat during airport security procedures.
Scissor-types of nail clippers with a plastic body and metal cutting blades are known, but are substantially different than nail clippers with opposing parallel blades that simultaneously cut both sides of the nail along the entire longitudinal length of the blades. The scissor-type of nail clipper is always severing the nail at a point, not along a line. Therefore, the scissor-type of nail clipper experiences only the smallest fraction of mechanical stress that is experienced by nail clippers with opposing parallel blades. However, scissor-types of nail clippers have many disadvantages. They increase the risk of cutting the finger of a user and are difficult to control. They also require more time to cut each nail than opposing parallel blade nail clippers.
Accordingly, there exists today a need for a nail clipper with opposing parallel blades that helps to ameliorate the above-mentioned problems and difficulties as well as ameliorate those additional problems and difficulties as may be recited in the “OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION” or discussed elsewhere in the specification or which may otherwise exist or occur and that are not specifically mentioned herein.
As various embodiments of the instant invention help provide a more elegant solution to the various problems and difficulties as mentioned herein, or which may otherwise exist or occur and are not specifically mentioned herein, and by a showing that a similar benefit is not available by mere reliance upon the teachings of relevant prior art, the instant invention attests to its novelty. Therefore, by helping to provide a more elegant solution to various needs, some of which may be long-standing in nature, the instant invention further attests that the elements thereof, in combination as claimed, cannot be obvious in light of the teachings of the prior art to a person of ordinary skill and creativity.
Clearly, such an apparatus would be useful and desirable.
2. Description of Prior Art
Nail clippers are, in general, known. For example, the following patent documents describe various types of these devices, some of which may have some degree of relevance to the invention. Other patent documents listed below may not have any significant relevance to the invention. The inclusion of these patent documents is not an admission that their teachings anticipate any aspect of the invention. Rather, their inclusion is intended to present a broad and diversified understanding regarding the current state of the art appertaining to either the field of the invention or possibly to other related or even distal fields of invention.    U.S. Pat. No. 7,024,774 to Novellie, et al., that issued on Apr. 11, 2006;    U.S. Pat. No. 7,020,964 to Han, et al., that issued on Apr. 4, 2006;    U.S. Pat. No. 6,941,657 to Choi, et al., that issued on Sep. 13, 2005;    U.S. Pat. No. 6,606,794 to Rieser, that issued on Aug. 19, 2003;    U.S. Pat. No. 6,088,919 to Gilman, that issued on Jul. 18, 2000;    U.S. Pat. No. 5,983,498 to Lieberman, et al., that issued on Nov. 16, 1999;    U.S. Pat. No. 5,964,033 to Wolf, that issued on Oct. 12, 1999;    U.S. Pat. No. 5,634,275 to Pine, that issued on Jun. 3, 1997;    U.S. Pat. No. 5,488,772 to Dababneh, et al., that issued on Feb. 6, 1996;    U.S. Pat. No. 5,331,739 to Basangy, that issued on Jul. 26, 1994;    U.S. Pat. No. 5,195,544 to Campagna, that issued on Mar. 23, 1993;    U.S. Pat. No. 4,847,994 to Dunn, Jr., that issued on Jul. 18, 1989;    U.S. Pat. No. 4,819,673 to McMullen, Jr., that issued on
Apr. 11, 1989;    U.S. Pat. No. 4,776,090 to Grassi, that issued on Oct. 11, 1988;    U.S. Pat. No. 4,731,927 to Wilson, that issued on Mar. 22, 1988;    U.S. Pat. No. 4,614,031 to Chen, that issued on Sep. 30, 1986;    U.S. Pat. No. 4,550,496 to Reinicke, that issued on Nov. 5, 1985;    U.S. Pat. No. 4,519,134 to Bumbera, that issued on May 28, 1985;    U.S. Pat. No. 4,341,015 to Young, that issued on Jul. 27, 1982;    U.S. Pat. No. 4,130,937 to Kim, that issued on Dec. 26, 1978;    U.S. Pat. No. 3,997,966 to Sartore, that issued on Dec. 21, 1976;    U.S. Pat. No. 3,914,866 to Applegate, that issued on Oct. 28, 1975; and    U.S. Pat. No. 796,389 to Wright, that issued on August 1905.
And including U.S. Patent Application Publications:    U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2009/0211098 to Childs, II, that published on Aug. 27, 2009;    U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0098861 to Novellie, et al., that published on May 27, 2004; and    U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0148779 to Choi, et al., that published on Aug. 5, 2004.
While the structural arrangements of the above described devices may, at first appearance, have similarities with the present invention, they differ in material respects. These differences, which will be described in more detail hereinafter, are essential for the effective use of the invention and which admit of the advantages that are not available with the prior devices.